Marie Jean Pierre, a Haitian hotel dishwasher, was awarded $21.5 million this week after she managed to convince a Miami jury that her employer had violated her religious rights —by making her work on Sundays.
According to the New York Post, Pierre, 60, got fired three years ago from her job at the Conrad Miami hotel, which was managed by Hilton at the time, after missing multiple shifts on Sunday to attend church service. She later sued, claiming the hotel had violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — which bars race, religious and gender discrimination by employers.
She was awarded $536,000 in damages to compensate for lost wages, emotional pain and “mental anguish” — and $20 million in punitive damages, according to federal court documents.
Although the mother of six will likely receive far, far less due to a state cap on punitive damages, Pierre is still a winner and her lawyer said it wasn't even about the money.
“I asked for $50 million, knowing that I was capped at $300,000,” her lawyer Marc Brumer told NBC News. “I didn’t do this for money. I did this to right the wrongs.”
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| That'll teach em! |
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